KENTUCKY DERBY

A report from horse racing’s federally created oversight panel found no single cause of death among 12 horses at Churchill Downs this spring, but recommends further action and analysis to mitigate risk at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Preakness officials say they are considering moving the second Triple Crown race back to four weeks after the Kentucky Derby instead of two weeks later.

Churchill Downs will implement safety measures for its September meet including new track surface maintenance equipment and additional monitoring and equine care following 12 horse deaths before and after the Kentucky Derby that spurred suspension of its spring meet.

Racing will resume at Churchill Downs in September, with no changes being made after a review of surfaces and safety protocols in the wake of 12 horse deaths.

Funny Cide, the “Gutsy Gelding” who became a fan favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003, has died from complications of colic.

If ever there was a banner day for hats — wild and colorful hats — it was Saturday.

Two more horses died in the hours before 15-1 shot Mage won the Kentucky Derby by a length, making it seven in all and casting a shadow over the 149th edition of the world's most famous race.

The early favorite for the Kentucky Derby has been scratched hours before the race.

The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten in the days leading up to Saturday's race.

What do you think of when you hear the words “Kentucky Derby?”

Rich Strike's stunning upset victory in last year's Kentucky Derby as a nearly 81-1 long shot provided the race's second big odds winner in four years.

Skinner has become the latest horse to be scratched from the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs has suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. indefinitely and Lord Miles, who is trained by Joseph, has been scratched from the Kentucky Derby days after the sudden death of two of his horses at the track.

The starting gate in the Kentucky Derby will contain 19 horses aiming to run 1 1/4 miles, many for the first time.

Horse racing’s new antidoping and medication control program has stumbled out of the starting gate.

The death of four horses at Churchill Downs has overshadowed preparations for the Kentucky Derby.

Bob Baffert won't be saddling any horses in the Kentucky Derby this weekend.

Todd Pletcher-trained colt Forte and Brad Cox's filly Wet Paint are the morning line favorites respectively for the 149th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Vincent Viola has a problem.

Steve Asmussen is the first trainer with 10,000 victories in North America.

Newgate won the $200,000 Robert B.

When Rich Strike bolted into horse racing’s spotlight in a little over minute with his Kentucky Derby upset victory, he shared the stage with his handler, who has long toiled in the shadows constantly tending to the champion colt.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is the third betting choice on the morning line for the Belmont Stakes.

Sarah Ramsey, a leading thoroughbred breeder and owner, has died.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike remains on track to race in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

Early Voting has won the Preakness Stakes, holding off a late challenge from fast-closing favorite Epicenter.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter has been set as the morning line favorite for the Preakness.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will not run in the Preakness.

Did an 80-1 longshot really win the Kentucky Derby.

The celebration after Rich Strike’s stunning Kentucky Derby upset continued long into the night.

Jockey Sonny Leon and trainer Eric Reed hit the ground running in every way imaginable for the Kentucky Derby.

Rich Strike came charging up the rail to overtake the leaders in the closing strides for a stunning 80-1 upset in the Kentucky Derby.

Rich Strike, an 80-1 long shot who only entered the Kentucky Derby field on Friday as a last-minute replacement for Ethereal Road, paid off big for bettors with one of the biggest upsets in Derby history.

The last three runnings of the Kentucky Derby have been anything but normal.

There are two types of people who watch the Kentucky Derby: Those who bet money and want to win, and spectators who just want to admire the strange names given to the horses.

A deal for Drug Free Sport International to police medication in horse racing is in place two months before the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority takes effect.

Zandon and filly Nest are the morning-line favorites for the 148th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

The Kentucky Derby leads off the first Triple Crown season in decades without the chance of Bob Baffert officially winning one or more of the three races.

Our friend Donna Reynolds joins our show to tell you how to create a beautiful Kentucky Derby set up... with products that you already have around the house! One tip that Donna mentioned is setting up a beautiful hat decorating station for the kids. Here are some easy steps to create a fun Kentucky Derby hat:

The Kentucky Derby television broadcast will be produced by a woman for the first time in the 148-year-old history of the race.

Kentucky’s racing director has denied Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension by stewards in their ruling that also disqualified Medina Spirit as Kentucky Derby winner.

Medina Spirit has been stripped of the victory in last year’s Kentucky Derby and Mandaloun has been declared the winner in a ruling by state racing stewards.

The 3-year-old colt whose Kentucky Derby victory in May came under scrutiny because of a positive drug test has collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita in Southern California.

An attorney for trainer Bob Baffert says split-sample urine testing of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has shown that a steroid present in the colt’s system came from a topical ointment and not an injection.

The Breeders' Cup Classic features a loaded field with impressive resumes.

Knicks Go is the early 5-2 favorite for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic this weekend at Del Mar.

A New York federal judge seems sympathetic to horse trainer Bob Baffert's claims that his May suspension by the New York Racing Association was unconstitutional after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test.

The Triple Crown again featured three different winners in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.

Favorite Essential Quality won the Belmont Stakes to give trainer Brad Cox his first win in a Triple Crown race.

Trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended for two years by Churchill Downs after an additional drug test of Medina Spirit confirmed the presence of the steroid betamethasone in the Kentucky Derby winner's system.

Essential Quality has been set as a 2-1 favorite for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

Bob Baffert has been temporarily suspended from entering horses at New York racetracks pending an investigation of the failed drug test by Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

Rombauer sprung an upset to win the Preakness Stakes at odds of 11-1.

Rombauer has given trainer Michael McCarthy his first Triple Crown victory by winning the 146th running of the Preakness as an 11-1 shot.

The conversation this week should be about how Medina Spirit ran a sensational race at the Kentucky Derby, raving about how the horse’s rags-to-riches story is just the type of feel-good tale that the world needs in some brutally difficult times.

Some fans are back at the Preakness to witness another run at a Triple Crown.

Bob Baffert not physically being present at the Preakness isn't keeping his shadow from hanging over the race and the Triple Crown.

For five years, a bill that would place the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in charge of fighting illicit drug use in horse racing went nowhere in Congress.

The Preakness is allowing Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit to enter Saturday's race subject to additional testing and monitoring following the colt’s failed drug test after the Derby.

Trainer Bob Baffert says Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was treated with an antifungal ointment containing the steroid betamethasone that may have caused the horse to fail a postrace drug test.

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's failed postrace drug test has put doping horses back in the spotlight when the sport would rather have the focus on the Triple Crown.

Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby is in serious jeopardy because of a failed postrace drug test.

Two sports events last week, the Kentucky Derby and first round of the NFL draft, pulled in more television viewers than the Academy Awards less than two weeks earlier.

The Belmont Stakes will limit attendance to 11,000 spectators for the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown series.

As Bob Baffert digests a record seventh Kentucky Derby win that even caught him off guard, the Hall of Fame trainer and Medina Spirit’s connections must determine whether the colt will turn around quickly for the Preakness on May 15.

Medina Spirit fought off three challengers in the stretch to win the Kentucky Derby, making Bob Baffert the winningest trainer in the race’s 147-year history with seven victories.

Medina Spirit has won the 147th Kentucky Derby by a half-length over Mandaloun to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the premier race for 3-year-olds.

Essential Quality is the 2-1 morning line favorite and will start from the No. 14 post for the 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Rock Your World won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby by 4 1/4 lengths over 4-5 favorite Medina Spirit, preventing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert from earning his 10th win in the West Coast’s prep for the Kentucky Derby.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Known Agenda owner Vincent Viola kept asking trainer Todd Pletcher the same question over the last few days. “Do you think we really have a shot in the Florida Derby?" Known Agenda ran away from the field in the Florida Derby on Saturday, and might keep on going all the way to Churchill Downs to start the Triple Crown season. Pletcher won the Florida Derby for a record sixth time, and Known Agenda covered the 1 1/8 miles on the dirt in 1 minutes, 49.45 seconds. Viola had to be talked out of a plan to send Known Agenda to the Santa Anita Derby, simply because he didn't think the horse was ready for the Florida Derby.

John Velazquez, right, rides Authentic to win the Breeder's Cup Classic horse race at Keeneland Race Course, in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. Many of its best competitors performed at the top of their games on a record-breaking weekend, sparking high expectations for 2021. The sport just hopes that next year’s schedule returns to normal and that spectators can be in the grandstands enjoying the races. So, I miss the fans.”“I’ll be glad when everything gets back to normal and we have the fans back," he said. “We had a reason to smile again in horse racing and show off to people who were watching what a beautiful sport it is with the excitement and the nervousness," Baffert said.

Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is taken for a workout at the Breeders' Cup World Championship horse races at Keeneland Race Course Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Lexington, Ky. Authentic is scheduled to run in the Breeders' Cup Classic race Saturday. While it has made for a strange year and compacted path to this weekend’s $31 million Breeders’ Cup world championships at Keeneland, the 14 races running Friday and Saturday at the picturesque track provides some normalcy after a season of upheaval. “The Breeders’ Cup is perhaps the only sport in which the product on the field has actually benefited from the pandemic,” NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss said in a network release. Considering concerns about whether the Breeders’ Cup would occur at all, the question almost seems welcome.

8 post position for the Breeders’ Cup Classic and is the 5-2 morning line favorite for the marquee race of the season-ending World Championships at Keeneland. Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, a Baffert pupil who held off Tiz the Law in a wire-to-wire victory at Churchill, will go off at 6-1 from the No. I can’t do any more for him.”Filly Swiss Skydiver, who won last month's Preakness against males and was a Classic pre-entry, opted to run against her own gender in Breeders' Cup Distaff over 1 1/8 miles. “She was 11 of 11 in the Breeders’ Cup in 2018," he said. 7 post for Breeders’ Cup Juvenile that cap Friday’s five-race feature card for 2-year-olds.

The “Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act” comes after a series of doping scandals and a rash of horse fatalities in recent years. "Horse racing has long been woven into the fabric of American culture,'' Tonko said during House debate, citing storied names such as Secretariat and Man o' War that “stir the imagination of racing fans” around the world. The House bill would empower an independent Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to set uniform, national standards for medication, track safety and testing of horses for performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs. The legislation is supported by a range of groups, including The Jockey Club, the New York Racing Association and the Humane Society of the United States. “Horse racing is experiencing the most profound crisis in the long history of the sport.

Kentucky Derby winner Authentic was installed as the 9-5 morning line favorite for the Preakness and drew the No. Authentic’s trainer, Bob Baffert, is undefeated taking the Derby winner to the Preakness, which will be run Saturday without fans. 4 as she looks to be the sixth filly to win the Preakness and first since Rachel Alexandra in 2009. So we’re very pleased with that outcome.”Trainer Steve Asmussen is saddling three horses in the Preakness: No. Mr. Big News was third behind Authentic and Tiz the Law in the Derby.

FILE - In this June 20, 2020, file photo, Tiz the Law (8), with jockey Manny Franco up, approaches the finish line on his way to winning the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Elmont, N.Y. Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law wont run in next months Preakness, spoiling what would have been a highly anticipated rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The Preakness on Oct. 3 at Pimlico concludes this years reconfigured Triple Crown series, which was run out of order because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law won’t run in next month’s Preakness, spoiling what would have been a highly anticipated rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The colt won the shortened Belmont Stakes in New York on June 20 to open the Triple Crown series. By skipping the Preakness, Tiz the Law will have 63 days between the Derby and the BC Classic, which is worth $6 million.

Bob Bafferts latest star achieved that by blowing past Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law to win going away Saturday at Churchill Downs. Though Authentic shattered hopes for a Triple Crown winner this year, he raised questions about what hell do for an encore, which could include a possible rematch against Tiz the Law at the Preakness in Baltimore on Oct. 3. There figures to be other well-rested horses to contend with, though Baffert touted Tiz the Law as a formidable foe at Pimlico Race Course. But those options are for later, and Baffert is happy that Authentic emerged from the Derby in good shape. Right now, at the end of the day Tiz the Law is still going to be tough.

Kentucky Derby entry Thousand Words runs during an early morning workout at Churchill Downs, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5th. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Horses run during a race before the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)LOUISVILLE, Ky. The Latest on the 146th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs (all times EDT):12:30 p.m. Early races have gone off at sunny Churchill Downs in the lead-up to the 146th Kentucky Derby, set to begin without spectators beneath the Twin Spires and with protests against social injustice expected to take place nearby. Tiz the Law enters the $3 million race as the 3-5 morning line favorite for the 16-horse field with odds likely to rise by the scheduled 7:02 p.m. post time. The colt won the Belmont Stakes and can become the first Derby winner from the No. Hes surrounded on the outside in the 1 mile-race by Honor A. P. (5-1, No.

Military Police, working as security, stand in empty stands before the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)LOUISVILLE, Ky. The Churchill Downs stands are empty and the wagering windows closed. The 146th Kentucky Derby is a surreal distillation of the crises facing the county in 2020. The race, usually in May, is four months late because of the coronavirus pandemic. Wanda Martin lives across from the backside of Churchill Downs. Worst derby ever.

Authentic won by 1 1/4 lengths without the usual crowd of 150,000 on hand at Churchill Downs because of the coronavirus pandemic. The bay colt ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.61 under John Velazquez, who earned his third Derby victory. Sent off at 3-5 as the biggest Derby favorite in 31 years, Tiz the Law stalked Authentic on the outside before challenging at the top of the stretch. Yes! Baffert shouted in the paddock, where he watched the race on the video screen. Tiz the Law had already won the Belmont, the kickoff to the reconfigured Triple Crown that was run in June at a shorter distance.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. The field for the Kentucky Derby has been reduced to 16 after Finnick the Fierce was scratched on Friday. He's missing his right eye because of a congenital cataract. Monge said trainer Rey Hernandez, who gets aboard Finnick the Fierce for morning workouts, told him he didn't notice any problem. Monge said if he checks out, Finnick the Fierce could be in consideration for the Preakness on Oct. 3. Finnick the Fierce finished seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes in July, his most recent start.

Kentucky Derby entry Tiz the Law runs during a workout at Churchill Downs, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. The Kentucky Derby still has horses Tiz the Law is the biggest favorite in 31 years but just about everything else makes the 146th edition unlike any other. Quietude cant hurt, said Barclay Tagg, trainer of 3-5 favorite Tiz the Law. Tiz the Law won the Travers by 5 1/2 lengths over the same distance at Saratoga a month ago. A win by Tiz the Law would make Tagg the oldest trainer to win a Derby at age 82.

What happened next set horse racing off on a year-long odyssey of chaos. From a historic DQ to doping, lawsuits to a global pandemic, and then a Triple Crown turned upside down. What happened next set horse racing off on a yearlong odyssey of chaos: from a historic DQ to doping, from lawsuits to a pandemic, and now a Triple Crown turned upside down. Instead of leading off on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby shifted to Labor Day weekend. Who would have ever thought youd run the Kentucky Derby with no fans? Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said.

Tiz the Law is 4-0 this year, winning by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. Sent off at 13-1 odds, Funny Cide won by 1 1/2 lengths, thrilling the Sackatoga group that rode school buses to the race. After losing the Belmont, Funny Cide didnt run in the 2003 Travers because of a fever. Funny Cide and Tiz the Law are his biggest horses. There are suggestions that Tagg finally could land in racing's Hall of Fame should Tiz the Law win the Triple Crown.

(AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)Jockeys riding in the rescheduled 146th Kentucky Derby have to arrive by Monday and then quarantine upon returning to their home tracks, just one of many changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, Churchill Downs had proposed an arrival date of Aug. 24 nearly two weeks before the Derby on Sept. 5. Smith will bolster his trip to the Derby with a riding assignment the following weekend at Kentucky Downs near the Tennessee border. Smith will be joined by some other Derby jockeys. Their coronavirus tests from Churchill Downs will be honored at the southern Kentucky track.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. A federal appeals court has upheld the decision by Churchill Downs stewards that made Country House the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati on Friday affirmed a U.S. District Court decision to dismiss a lawsuit by Gary and Mary West, who own Maximum Security. The Wests sued the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, its executive director, members and stewards after the race in May 2019. The Wests sought to reverse the track stewards decision, contending it violated their rights to due process. Maximum Security won the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 22.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, is recovering after recently testing positive for COVID-19. His condition was disclosed in a tweet posted by grandson Brady Wayne Lukas. Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been isolating at home and following CDC and health care provider recommendations, his grandson posted on Wednesday. Lukas is based at Churchill Downs in the spring and summer, where he frequently accompanies his horses to the track atop a pony. Lukas has 4,837 career victories and more than $282 million in purse earnings.

He raced to a 3 3/4-length victory Saturday in the Belmont Stakes to open the rescheduled Triple Crown. In 11 weeks, he'll get a chance to avenge that defeat over the same track in the Kentucky Derby. Tiz the Law has an ambitious summer and fall campaign ahead of him if all goes according to plan. He watched Tiz the Law win the Florida Derby on March 28 from his condo near the track and the Belmont at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs. Tiz the Law is atop the leaderboard that determines the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field with 272 points.

Robin Smullen, left, and Juan Barajas Saldana walk Belmont Stakes hopeful Tiz the Law around the paddock at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2020. Now, the ownership group that buys just one or two New York-bred colts a year is back to try again with Tiz the Law. Tiz The Law has been the best 3-year-old since January basically, and he remains that, retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey said. Knowlton hasnt seen Tiz the Law race in person since Feb. 3 in Florida because of the pandemic. With all the changes for horses and humans, Tiz the Law remains a calming presence.

The Belmont Stakes usually wraps up a five-week span that includes the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. All have been pushed back, though the Belmont Stakes will now go first on June 20. (Richard Rasmussen/The Sentinel-Record via AP, File)The final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown would have been set and the French Open finals would have been contested this week if not for the coronavirus pandemic. All have been pushed back, though the Belmont Stakes will now go first on June 20. TRIVIA BREAK: With the Belmont Stakes being the first Triple Crown race this year, followed by the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and the Preakness on Oct. 3, the Triple Crown will be run out of its usual order for the first time since when?

(CNN) - Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for drugs in California weeks before he won the Kentucky Derby last year, The New York Times reported. If the state's horse racing officials had followed the rules, the failed drug test would have disqualified the 3-year-old chestnut colt from the famous derby, the paper said in the explosive report Wednesday night. Justify won the Santa Anita Derby on April 7 last year, then failed the drug test after that race, according to the paper. Just over two weeks later, on May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, the first of the three races that make up the Triple Crown. "In addition, I had no input into, or influence on, the decisions made by the California Horse Racing Board," Baffert said.